1. Weathering, Erosion, and Soil
What type of rock is this, how can you tell?

2. Erosion
Erosion
The removal and transport of weathered materials by natural agents such as
Caused by
Glaciers
Running water
Gravity
Wind
Waves

3. Glaciers
Mass of compacted ice and snow that moves under its own weight

4. Glaciers
Friction at the base of the glacier is reduced by a thin film of melt water.
Glaciers account for about 75% of the fresh water on Earth

5. Glaciers can leave behind large boulders that are known as an erratic

6. Glaciers
Glaciers can move lots of sediment that can carve striations (grooves) into rocks
These Striations show how glaciers moved

7. Glacial Deposits
Drift or Till - all sediment that is deposited by glacial activity
Loess: fine powder, pulverized rock, that blankets much of the northern mid-west
Moraine: ridge or pile of boulders, gravel, sand, and silt left at the end of a glacier
Esker: type of outwash that accumulates in the channels and tunnels of a glacier

8. Glacial Landforms
Horne: a pyramid shaped peak where 3 or more cirques meet
Cirque
Steep-walled bowl-shaped depression

9. Glacial Landforms Trough
U-shaped valley, Glaciers carve U shaped valleys

10. Glacial Landforms Arete Hanging valley
Narrow flat-topped ridge that forms between two parallel troughs or cirques
Hanging valley
Straight drop-off at the end of a trough

11. Glacial Landforms
Moraine: Pile of mixed sediments that have been carried and dropped by the glacier

12. Glacial Landforms
Eskers -Mounds of rock from melt tunnels

14. Streams and Rivers Velocity - How fast the water moves
Gradient - The steepness, the slope that a river or stream travels
Discharge - The amount of water that moves past a certain point in a river in a given amount of time
If there is a steep gradient, high velocity, and a large discharge, then Erosion will be severe!
Rivers have energy to move lots of sediment, and even large boulders.

15. River stages affect: Velocity, Gradient, & discharge which cause Erosion

17. Seven Bends of the Shenandoah
River meanders
Bends in the river, shows how mature a river is.
Is the Shenandoah and old river or a young river?

18. Erosion-Mass Movement
The downward transportation of weathered materials by gravity
Massive Landslide

19. Erosion-Mass Movement
Creep
Slump
Mudflow/Earthflow
Landslide/Rockslide

20. Erosion-Mass Movement: A large mass of sediment drops down!

21. Erosion-Mass Movement
Creep
Very slow movement of earth material.
Caused by repeated freezing and thawing.
Sediments are loosened by expanding frost and contracting thaw.
Leaning fence posts and telephone poles are a sign of Creep.

22. Fence posts leaning due to creep

23. Erosion-Mass Movement
Slump
Slow downward movement of a large mass of soil
Occurs when underlying sediments are weakened by heavy rains
Characterized by a curved scar in the land surface.

24. Slump can cause road hazards

25. Erosion-Mass Movement
Mudflow/Earthflow
Thick pastes of sediments that travel downhill at great speeds
Usually occur in dry areas that get a large quantity of rain all at once
Leaves a cone shaped deposit

26. Mudflow in the Blue Ridge Mooreman’s Gap near Charlottesville

27. Erosion-Mass Movement
Landslide/Rockslide
Fast movement of large blocks of rock
Occurs in very steep vertical cliffs
Accelerated by ice wedging

28. At the bottom of an old rock slide in N.C. 2011

29. Wave Erosion
The crashing of waves on a shoreline combined with storms continually shape the beach. This is a shoreline with erosion.

31. Wind and Waves
Wind moves sand dunes at the beach and in the deserts.

32. Wind and Waves
Wind can carve out landscapes as it carries sediment

33. Wind and Waves
Many storms combine water and wind to cause significant erosion on landforms.
Strong winds are capable of moving large amounts of sediment

34. Deposition: The process of dropping or depositing soil and sediments.